Camera gear advice

[johnnyAK]

I am looking to upgrade my gear and would like some advice.

Canon 6D or Canon 70D??
Which lenses would you recommend?

Looking for a fast lens for shooting sports, but also a good lens for shooting dark rides. The 70D is great for sports but not so great for low light. The 6D is the exact opposite so I am torn trying to make a decision. Is there any lens out there that will help me meet somewhere in the middle? A fast lens for shooting dark rides for the 70D perhaps? Or a good lens for taking pictures of my kids soccer games with the 6D?

Help

 

[havoc315]

I am looking to upgrade my gear and would like some advice.

Canon 6D or Canon 70D??
Which lenses would you recommend?

Looking for a fast lens for shooting sports, but also a good lens for shooting dark rides. The 70D is great for sports but not so great for low light. The 6D is the exact opposite so I am torn trying to make a decision. Is there any lens out there that will help me meet somewhere in the middle? A fast lens for shooting dark rides for the 70D perhaps? Or a good lens for taking pictures of my kids soccer games with the 6D?

Help

Two totally different cameras. And a lens won't transform a camera. For example, a fast 1.4 aperture lens would be great for dark rides. It would be great for dark rides on the 70D. And it will be even better for dark rides on the 6D.
The Canon 100-400 would be great for sports with a huge amount of reach. It would be great for sports on the 6D, and even better for sports on the 70D.

Also, are wa talking indoor or outdoor sports? For low light sports, full frame has an advantage. If in good light, APS-C has an advantage.

I assume you have ruled out the 7dii? That is really THE camera for sports.

Between the 70D and 6d, I don't see a lot of big advantages for the 70D...
The main advantages of the 70D -- It will be much cheaper in the long term, because typically full frame lenses cost far more than aps-c lenses.
It will give you extra reach when using the same lenses -- 1.6 crop factor. So the 100-400 becomes 160-640mm. Or, you could use the smaller 70-300 on the 70d, to still get 480mm reach, instead of using the huge 100-400 on the 6D. So the 70D can also be more compact.
The 70D may have better video functionality.
The 70D has a slightly faster burst rate.

The 6D will give you better low light capability, better dynamic range, and better background separation.

If your highest priority is sports, I'd go with the 70D or spring for the 7Dii.
The 6D will excel at portraits and landscapes (and dark rides).

 

[mom2rtk]

What gear do you currently own?

I have the 6D love it to pieces. I do still struggle though with getting adequate reach though. Losing the crop factor does hurt. But man, when it's time to shoot in low-light I wouldn't want to have anything else.

 

[mom2rtk]

Also, what sports do you shoot? Some sports can get away with a lower burst rate. Others not so much.

 

[Spork3127]

Just reiterating, but they are 2 completely different cameras that can serve different purposes. For body, it really depends on what you plan to shoot. I primarily shoot wildlife and nature, so I use a 7DM2. Fantastic body that serves my uses better than a full frame would. If you want more family style shots at the parks with characters, candid shots of family, etc, the 6D may be a better bet.

Just to clarify what havoc said, Canon does make specific lenses that will only work on full frame or an APS-C (crop sensor). However, a majority of their lenses will work on either. Canon has EF and EF-S lenses. Put simply, Canon EF-S lenses are designed solely for use on Canon APS-C DSLRs. Canon EF lenses are designed to work with full frame and APS-C Canon cameras.

Unfortunately, you may need multiple lenses to cover what you'd like to achieve in you lens wishlist. The rides can be dark and offer limited space, so you may want to consider something like the Canon 28 f/1.8 for rides as it has a fairly wide mm, good low light capability, short minimum focusing distance of just under 10", and provides one heck of a good bokeh....all without breaking the bank. Canon makes some fantastic mid and long range L series zoom lenses that are great for sports, i.e. 70-200, 70-300, and 100-400. Depending on if the sports are indoors or not will narrow down the options for a zoom lens. These can break the bank though.

 

[Skywise]

Which one is... less important to you? The 70d will still do decent in low light situations. I used a T4i on small world with excellent results and got nice fireworks videos (albeit with some noise in the really dark sections and/or losing some castle detail but after a little post-processing it's perfectly useable and probably 95% of the people watching the video can't tell.) The 6D is far, far better but that's what it was designed for.

On the flip side, the AF on the 6d isn't that hot. It wants time or something obvious to "lock onto" for AF. in fact I've turned off the multi-point AF and just have the center point active at all times as the AF kept picking the wrong points on me so getting an active sports shot is going to require more effort.

On the flip flip side IF you've got a good lens AND can get the shot the 6d picture will probably be better because of the FF sensor. But the 70d can make full use of my still favorite lens, the 17-55 f2.8 with IS which will more than compensate for the FF of the 6D.

My gut sense is you'd be happier with the 70d.

 

[johnnyAK]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I am still torn and can't decide what camera to purchase. I am not too concerned with the sports pictures as I have a Sony A55 right now that works great. I really now just want to find a really great camera and lens for portraits, landscapes, and dark rides of course since that is a passion of mine. I really wanted to stay around or under $1500 but my budget is up to 2K.

Thanks again

 

[bob100]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I am still torn and can't decide what camera to purchase. I am not too concerned with the sports pictures as I have a Sony A55 right now that works great. I really now just want to find a really great camera and lens for portraits, landscapes, and dark rides of course since that is a passion of mine. I really wanted to stay around or under $1500 but my budget is up to 2K.

Thanks again

I'd vote for a refurbished 6D ($979)

 

[johnnyAK]

where for 979$?

 

[bob100]

where for 979$?

google Canon refurbished 6D and click on the Canon site links. It changes daily, today it says $1,099 ..... out of stock.
Or subscribe to http://photography-on-the.net/forum "price watch" section (must register) and look daily
Or go to a site like http://www.canonpricewatch.com that tracks prices
refurbished can be frustrating but worth it, also includes the one year warranty

 

[mcraige]

I am not too concerned with the sports pictures as I have a Sony A55 right now that works great. I really now just want to find a really great camera and lens for portraits, landscapes, and dark rides of course since that is a passion of mine. I really wanted to stay around or under $1500 but my budget is up to 2K.

What lenses do you have for your A55? I know you mentioned Canon, but you can get a A77M2 body for $1,200, which is a HUGE step up from your A55, or an A68 (when it ships) for $600, which is still a big step up from your A55 and would leave lots of cash for more glass.

 

[mom2rtk]

Just know going into it that no matter which you choose, you will have second thoughts. Accept that going into it and you'll be fine.

 

[havoc315]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I am still torn and can't decide what camera to purchase. I am not too concerned with the sports pictures as I have a Sony A55 right now that works great. I really now just want to find a really great camera and lens for portraits, landscapes, and dark rides of course since that is a passion of mine. I really wanted to stay around or under $1500 but my budget is up to 2K.

Thanks again

You could even keep the a55 and put your money into lenses. The 70d generally will not be a huge step up from the a55. It's newer, it will be a small incremental step up. They have similar low light ability.

Shooting the toughest dark rides will require a fast aperture lens, no matter which camera you go with. Great lenses will upgrade your photography more than a body change. It's also generally a bit wasteful to shoot 2 systems since they can't share lenses. (Though I'm being a hypocrite as I shoot 2 systems but for very different purposes).

 

[photo_chick]

The 6D can shoot sports. Is it built for it? No. Can it do it well in the right hands? Absolutely. You just have to be an anticipatory shooter rather than rely on a fast burst mode to spray and pray.

I've been shooting with the 6D for about 3 years now and have rounded the counter back to 0001 8 times so far, so it's safe to say I've used it a bit. It's a great camera. The cons, no 100% view finder and the AF system. I see the AF system as a minor con because once you learn to work with it you shouldn't have any problems. The trick is learning how it's going to react and you might miss focus on many shots until you do. The lack of 100% view finder is an issue for me and it really drives me insane. I'm always looking and saying "I know I wasn't pulled back that much" yet the image says otherwise and it's because that view finder isn't 100%. But most crop bodies are not 100% either so for most people this is a non-issue. The biggest pro is amazing high ISO performance. It really does give you very clean images and with the right lens superb contest and detail.

Now, you said you want to find a really great camera for "portraits, landscapes, and dark rides". Any DSLR on the market today can do that with the right know how and lens. Getting the shots is 90% photographer, 10% camera.

All that said, I'm about to get a 7DmkII myself. The 6D will still be well used for portraits and certain situations like studio shooting or extreme low light, however I want a good crop body and I see the 7DII as my next walk around camera. I miss the crop format and have a few crop only lenses I really love. I also want some of the features the 7DII offers. Of course I've been about to pull the trigger on this for like a year and I keep having to fix things that break around the house so who knows when it will end up in my bag. LOL

 

[mom2rtk]

The 6D can shoot sports. Is it built for it? No. Can it do it well in the right hands? Absolutely. You just have to be an anticipatory shooter rather than rely on a fast burst mode to spray and pray.

I've been shooting with the 6D for about 3 years now and have rounded the counter back to 0001 8 times so far, so it's safe to say I've used it a bit. It's a great camera. The cons, no 100% view finder and the AF system. I see the AF system as a minor con because once you learn to work with it you shouldn't have any problems. The trick is learning how it's going to react and you might miss focus on many shots until you do. The lack of 100% view finder is an issue for me and it really drives me insane. I'm always looking and saying "I know I wasn't pulled back that much" yet the image says otherwise and it's because that view finder isn't 100%. But most crop bodies are not 100% either so for most people this is a non-issue. The biggest pro is amazing high ISO performance. It really does give you very clean images and with the right lens superb contest and detail.

Now, you said you want to find a really great camera for "portraits, landscapes, and dark rides". Any DSLR on the market today can do that with the right know how and lens. Getting the shots is 90% photographer, 10% camera.

All that said, I'm about to get a 7DmkII myself. The 6D will still be well used for portraits and certain situations like studio shooting or extreme low light, however I want a good crop body and I see the 7DII as my next walk around camera. I miss the crop format and have a few crop only lenses I really love. I also want some of the features the 7DII offers. Of course I've been about to pull the trigger on this for like a year and I keep having to fix things that break around the house so who knows when it will end up in my bag. LOL

I went from the T2i to the 6D a couple years ago. The T2i was had such a slow burst rate that the 6D was a nice step up for me. I thought my sports shooting days were over, but then my daughter decided to play tennis. No complaints from me on how it's done for that. I dug the T2i back out last week on our road trip for more reach with my telephoto, and was surprised at just how slow it seems now after shooting the 6D for a while.

I bet the 7DmkII would be an amazing companion camera! I hope you find a deal that makes you pull the trigger soon.